Swedish Language Council
Encyclopedia
The Swedish Language Council is the primary regulatory body for the advancement and cultivation of the Swedish language
. The council is partially funded by the Swedish
government and has semi-official status. The council asserts control over the language through the publication of various books with recommendations in spelling
and grammar
as well as books on linguistics
intended for a general audience, the sales of which are used to fund its operation. The council also works with the five official minority languages in Sweden: Finnish
, Meänkieli
, Yiddish, Romani
and Sami
along side with the Swedish Sign Language.
The Swedish Language Council comprises other organizations with an interest in the Swedish language, like the Swedish Academy
and the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation. A number of organizations representing journalists, teachers, writers, actors and translators are also included.
The council has been publishing the quarterly journal Språkvård (lit. "Language care") since 1965, which publishes articles about the use and development of the Swedish language, readers' answers about spelling and grammar as well as providing guidelines for the use of Swedish in various contexts. It currently has over 6,500 subscribers.
. The first ideas of a joint Nordic project surfaced in the 1930s and resulted in a Danish
organization for Nordic language cultivation being founded in 1941. The idea of an all-Nordic cooperation was thwarted by the fact that all Nordic countries with the exception of Sweden were embroiled in the Second World War. On March 3, 1944 a group of 16 organizations held the first constituent assembly
for what was then called Nämnden för svensk språkvård ("The Committee for Swedish Language Cultivation").
To counter difficulties in its finances, the council was reorganized in 1973 and assumed its current name. The government also assured the future of the council by guaranteeing the financing of four permanent staff members; a figure which today has grown and is no longer limited to a certain number of members, but by the actual needs of the council. Since the government assumed the responsibility for the financing, it also has the right to appoint the chairman and the head of the secretariat.
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
. The council is partially funded by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
government and has semi-official status. The council asserts control over the language through the publication of various books with recommendations in spelling
Spelling
Spelling is the writing of one or more words with letters and diacritics. In addition, the term often, but not always, means an accepted standard spelling or the process of naming the letters...
and grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
as well as books on linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
intended for a general audience, the sales of which are used to fund its operation. The council also works with the five official minority languages in Sweden: Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Meänkieli
Meänkieli
Meänkieli is the name used in Sweden for Finnish dialects spoken in the northernmost parts of the country, around the valley of the Torne River....
, Yiddish, Romani
Romani language
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
and Sami
Sami languages
Sami or Saami is a general name for a group of Uralic languages spoken by the Sami people in parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and extreme northwestern Russia, in Northern Europe. Sami is frequently and erroneously believed to be a single language. Several names are used for the Sami...
along side with the Swedish Sign Language.
The Swedish Language Council comprises other organizations with an interest in the Swedish language, like the Swedish Academy
Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
and the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation. A number of organizations representing journalists, teachers, writers, actors and translators are also included.
The council has been publishing the quarterly journal Språkvård (lit. "Language care") since 1965, which publishes articles about the use and development of the Swedish language, readers' answers about spelling and grammar as well as providing guidelines for the use of Swedish in various contexts. It currently has over 6,500 subscribers.
History
The Swedish Language Council has its roots in the attempt to assert control over the official language use among the Nordic countriesNordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
. The first ideas of a joint Nordic project surfaced in the 1930s and resulted in a Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
organization for Nordic language cultivation being founded in 1941. The idea of an all-Nordic cooperation was thwarted by the fact that all Nordic countries with the exception of Sweden were embroiled in the Second World War. On March 3, 1944 a group of 16 organizations held the first constituent assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
for what was then called Nämnden för svensk språkvård ("The Committee for Swedish Language Cultivation").
To counter difficulties in its finances, the council was reorganized in 1973 and assumed its current name. The government also assured the future of the council by guaranteeing the financing of four permanent staff members; a figure which today has grown and is no longer limited to a certain number of members, but by the actual needs of the council. Since the government assumed the responsibility for the financing, it also has the right to appoint the chairman and the head of the secretariat.
See also
- Language policyLanguage policyMany countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to...
- Research Institute for the Languages of FinlandResearch Institute for the Languages of FinlandThe Research Institute for the Languages of Finland is a governmental linguistic research institute of Finland geared at studies of Finnish, Swedish , the Sami languages, Romani language, and the Finnish Sign Language....
- Dansk SprognævnDansk SprognævnDansk Sprognævn is the official regulatory body of the Danish language as a part of the Danish Ministry of Culture, and resides at the University of Copenhagen. It was established in 1955...
- Norwegian Language CouncilNorwegian Language CouncilThe Norwegian Language Council was the regulation authority for the Norwegian language. It has been superseded by The Language Council of Norway .The council had 38 members, and created lists of acceptable word forms...
- Swedish as a foreign languageSwedish as a foreign languageSwedish as a foreign language is studied by about 40,000 people worldwide at the university level. This is done at over two hundred universities and colleges in 41 countries. Swedish is the Scandinavian language which is most studied abroad....